All About The Jersey - New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings: Game Stream #23A world class blog for Jersey's team: the New Jersey Devilshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47083/lou-fave.png2014-11-29T00:09:31-05:00http://www.allaboutthejersey.com/rss/stream/70650202014-11-29T00:09:31-05:002014-11-29T00:09:31-05:00Devils Botch 4-1 Lead & Lose 4-5 (SO) to Detroit
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<img alt="Cory Schneider deserved better. We all deserved better. But the play by New Jersey meant otherwise. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-Rf3u_4_3YegyS8W65UChpmc2gA=/0x105:4201x2906/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44247352/459694648.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cory Schneider deserved better. We all deserved better. But the play by New Jersey meant otherwise. | Bruce Bennett/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Two games after botching a 4-2 lead in Calgary, the New Jersey Devils squandered a 4-1 lead to the Detroit Red Wings in just under two periods and lost in a shootout. This is a recap of another flop by the Devils.</p> <p>As you may or may not know, I am not just the guy who started and runs the third best <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/">New Jersey Devils</a> blog on the Internet. I am also a season ticket holder. I have the fortune to afford my own seat in the lower bowl and I go to games as much as I can. Sure, blogging would be better off if I were elsewhere, right in front of the computer, generating all-important clicks & page views with up-to-the-date-with-a-super-short-expiration-date kinds of posts. But I prefer it this way. I want to enjoy the greatest sport in the world played by the team that I love. I am a fan who analyzes the team. Yet, performances like tonight's are simply maddening.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.wingingitinmotown.com/">Detroit Red Wings</a> are a legitimately good team. If you were to tell me before the game, "Hey, John, your preview was right, Detroit's a quality team and given how they decisively beat New Jersey earlier this month, would you think a point would be acceptable?", then I would have reluctantly agreed. But not like this. The Devils lost tonight's game 4-5 via a shootout. Detroit won their first shootout of the season against the team whose fanbase has come to regard it as an automatic 'L.' But that's not the maddening part. The anger comes from the fact the Devils were up 4-1 early in the second period and the team managed to squander the sizable lead to have to play beyond regulation. It's not that the Devils needed to keep it at 4-1 or extend the lead, but it should not be unreasonable to expect them to not concede three goals in less than forty minutes. Yet, expectations were so low that the general reaction I got to <span>Drew Miller's</span> third period equalizer was resignation. That it was no surprise the Devils blew a lead.</p>
<p>Granted, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2014/11/23/7269997/new-jersey-devils-shocked-in-regulation-lose-shootout-calgary-flames">this did happen rather recently in Calgary.</a> But that was the result of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.matchsticksandgasoline.com/">Flames</a> pulling their goalie early, throwing whatever they can on net, and hoping for a rebound to put home - and they got two. As much of a heartbreaker an equalizer with five seconds left felt, I think it would have been far preferable to what happened at The Rock tonight. Detroit simply saw the 4-1 score early in the second and went right to work with plenty of time left. It was more like the last Devils-Red Wings game where the Red Wings bossed the Devils around for the better part of two periods. The Devils had opportunities to deny them but they flopped and the Red Wings rallied.</p>
<p>The second period was simply domination by the Red Wings, namely their power play. After <span>Mike Cammalleri</span> scored his second power play goal of the night, the Red Wings took over the rink. The Devils took a whopping five shots on net after that goal whereas Detroit put up 17. Seven of those shots were across three power plays; the other ten were at even strength. In terms of attempts, the Devils were behind 8-12 at evens and 10-27 in all situations. Amazingly, their power play only converted one goal in that period. It could have been more had it not been for <span>Cory Schneider</span> and some puck luck. The second period goals themselves were very similar. Xavier Oueller scored a little under ninety seconds after Cammalleri's sharp-angled PPG. He was alone in front of the net, the Red Wings won the puck deep, pass, shot, score, and I'm yelling at <span>Marek Zidlicky</span> for not covering him there. The PPG Detroit scored was <span>Justin Abdelkader</span> hanging out in front of the crease with <span>Andy Greene</span> (I thought it was <span>Adam Larsson</span> live, my bad) not really covering him. <span>Henrik Zetterberg</span> had to make an easy short pass to him, shot, and score. The Devils' response to this? Throwing pucks away to get it out of their zone and/or dumping it into theirs. No wonder Detroit kept coming in waves; they kept the pucks on their sticks. Their reward was a one-shot game in the third.</p>
<p>The equalizer was more or less a bad bounce, though the defensive effort by the team was simply messy. Thomas Jurco connected with <span>Niklas Kronwall</span> on a sick turnaround pass and the defender charged towards the net. Zidlicky got his leg out to deny the shot. The puck came out and a streaking Drew Miller put it home on Schneider's flank. I don't know why Zidlicky didn't try to use his stick or why there was no other support on that side of the ice. Schneider wasn't at fault for any of these goals - the first GA was a <span>Riley Sheahan</span> deflection on the rare 3-on-4 situation - but the defense certainly was. And the lackluster play going forward certainly didn't help. The Devils were a bit better in the third, as they out-attempted and out-shot the Red Wings. But they still dumped the puck away too often and iced it quite a bit. The latter was a problem in the first, but they were getting more carries then. And puck control and awareness led to the sweet goals that created the 4-1 lead. But that was gone with less then 10 left and, summing up the final two periods, regulation ended with <span>Patrik Elias</span> with a clear shooting lane passing it across to nobody in particular.</p>
<p>Overtime solved nothing and the shootout was, well, the shootout. No Devil scored. <span>Gustav Nyquist</span> did. A lost point despite a three goal lead at one point and even a slim 4-3 lead heading into the third. And throughout that third period, every little play that didn't go right or didn't execute well just irritated me more and more. <span>Martin Havlat</span> was absolutely useless. Patrik Elias was bad. Marek Zidlicky still had too many Zidlicky moments. <span>Eric Gelinas</span> had signs of why he was benched for <span>Peter Harrold</span>. Mike Cammalleri wasn't much of a factor outside of power plays. The Devils got too deep, the Devils didn't pinch when they could, the Devils didn't shoot when they had the lane, the Devils shot it into <span>Petr Mrazek</span> when they finally decided to challenge him after shellshocking him in the first period, the Devils played the music too loud on the PA to drown out fans (accept it, owners, we like Rock and Roll Part 2; blasting songs over 85 dB isn't going to fix that), and so forth. A lot of this bugged me and on top of that, all those who predicted the most negative occurrence possible - a blown lead - got to be proven right and I paid money to see it all. So I, and many others, have the right to be peeved about this game and as far as I can tell, we are.</p>
<p>I will say that isn't nearly as bad as 2011-12 - which I also got to witness live - but this isn't good either. Point or no point against a quality team. And after witnessing another flop by the Devils I'm not seeing how it's going to get better - new coach, new players, new whatever - anytime soon. That's both maddening and depressing and not at all good for business.</p>
<p><b>The Game Stats: </b>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/GS020338.HTM">NHL.com Game Summary</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/ES020338.HTM">NHL.com Event Summary</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/PL020338.HTM">NHL.com Play by Play Log</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/SS020338.HTM">NHL.com Shot Summary</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/TH020338.HTM">NHL.com Devils Time on Ice Log</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20142015&game=20338">Natural Stat Trick Corsi Charts</a></p>
<p><b>The Opposition Opinion: </b><a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2014/11/28/7304327/game-recap-through-hell-back-red-wings-5-devils-4-so" target="_blank">There's this recap up at Winging it in Motown.</a> Go check that out.</p>
<p><b>The Game Highlights: </b>See two sick shots by Cammalleri, arguably the prettiest goal Peter Harrold ever scored, and a depressing three-goal comeback by Detroit goal-by-goal. All of this in this video at NHL.com:</p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="395" width="640" frameborder="0" src="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=2014020338-X-h"></iframe></p>
<p><b>Injury to Insult: </b>If botching a 4-1 lead wasn't bad enough, the Devils also lost two rather important forwards during tonight's game. <span>Travis Zajac</span> and <span>Adam Henrique</span> both left the game with injuries. Henrique did not play in the third period or in overtime. Zajac only played 2:54 in the third; he was not seen after 8:40 into the period. So if you were wondering why you saw a lot more of <span>Jacob Josefson</span> and <span>Stephen Gionta</span> than you would have liked, then there's your reason. The Devils were down two centers who play in all situations. <a href="http://fireandice.northjersey.com/fire-ice-1.174987/devils-lose-centers-adam-henrique-and-travis-zajac-injuries-in-5-4-shootout-loss-to-detroit-1.1143446" target="_blank">Per Tom Gulitti at Fire & Ice after the game</a>, their status for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lighthousehockey.com/">Islanders</a> game is unknown. Regardless of how you feel about Zajac's relative lack of production and Henrique being so bad in the possession game this season, those are two big losses to the roster.</p>
<p><b>Power Play Success: </b>Detroit came into this game with the second highest success rate on penalty kills. So Cammalleri scoring two goals against them means it was a win for the power play tonight. However, there was a massive opportunity to go up 5-2 in the second period when Detroit took two penalties in a row. The Devils only got one shot on net in the 1:56 long 5-on-3; though Zajac was seemingly close to converting. That's not really good, but given that the Devils didn't just scramble and fire dumb shots, I wasn't too bothered by it. Not scoring there turned out to be a big deal, but I don't think it was a lost opportunity that cost them the game. No, conceding three goals and not answering any of them in less than forty minutes cost them the regulation win.</p>
<p><b>Penalty Kill Issues Redux: </b>Detroit took the Devils to school when New Jersey was shorthanded. The Red Wings exploited the weakside numerous times and, again, were remarkably close to scoring. The Devils had issues with guys in the slot in addition to those drifting in backdoor. They faced a lot of attempts, seven shots over three opportunities, and conceded a goal from the one spot that should be well-covered: in front of the crease. It was almost a throwback to the penalty kill from earlier in this season that threw them down into the basement of the league in terms of success rate. While I'm harping on the second period, the Red Wings did get a PPG earlier in the game when Riley Sheahan deflected a Kronwall shot in front of Schneider in a rare 3-on-4 situation. So two strikes against the PK tonight.</p>
<p>A quick word about the penalties before I move on. They were really easy calls to take. Martin Havlat hooked <span>Danny DeKeyser</span> on the forecheck in a 4-on-4 situation where the Devils were looking good and scored a goal on. <span>Damon Severson</span> and Adam Larsson very clearly held Nyquist and <span>Johan Franzen</span>, respectively, in front of refs. Stephen Gionta slashed the stick out of Nyquist's hands. The latter three were in that second period and you'll note that the foulers all are regulars on the PK. So not only did they put the team down a man against a team who needed such opportunities to get back into the game, but that limited the options Peter DeBoer had. If you're wondering why Peter Harrold got 2:20 of shorthanded ice time, then there's your reason: four minutes of shorthanded ice time to defensemen who would ordinarily be out there on the PK.</p>
<p><b>Running on E: </b>In an attempt to mix things up, DeBoer put Elias, Havlat, and Cammalleri together. They got bulldozed at even strength. Cammalleri's two goals and three of his four shots on net were on the power play, away from #26 and #9. The unit didn't play a lot together - Havlat played less than even the injured Henrique - but they were bad when they did. Elias was just not good and, again, his night was summed up by literally passing away a shot at the end of regulation. Yeah, Mrazek was waiting for a shot but there was no one to pass it too. All that and he got a secondary assist taken away from him - and correctly, he wasn't on the ice for Jagr's goal - so he's at 599 career assists and not the announced 600.</p>
<p>The other lines, pre-Zajac & Henrique injuries, weren't nearly as bad. Jacob Josefson looked fine with Gionta and <span>Steve Bernier</span>. <span>Tuomo Ruutu</span> had himself a nice little game with four shots and generally not getting beat in possession. Jagr proved he can do things that count away from Zajac and Cammalleri. His pass to play in Harrold was divine and his rebound goal was a nice looking chip. The line switches weren't without merit, but that Elias line continues to be a hole regardless of wingers. Tonight was just another example. And it's going to be a bigger issue depending on how long Zajac and Henrique are out.</p>
<p><b>Invective for Zidlicky: </b>Marek Zidlicky did play better than he did in Vancouver. He still played like one of the dumbest players I've ever seen. Why he started a beef with Thomas Jurco within the first few minutes of the game, I cannot tell you. Why he doesn't think he needs to play close to his man in dangerous spots on the ice, I cannot tell you. Why he doesn't accept the shooting lane he has and attempts to move or skate the puck around for something better that does not exist, I cannot tell you. Why he managed a -6 in Corsi while his partner Harrold was at -1, I cannot tell you. I have written similar things before,</p>
<p><b>Like Night and Day: </b>If there was one big lesson from tonight is not "COVER THE SLOT," then it was another example of the importance of passing the puck while going forward. The Red Wings did this a lot, resorting to dumping the puck when they had didn't have a better option. As a result, they were able to get 54 shooting attempts and 32 shots on net, score effects aside. The Devils did not, especially in the second period where they had shifts where just getting the puck over their own blueline was an adventure. The Devils' best scoring opportunities came when they carried or passed the puck in and didn't fling the puck away in the process. It's not a coincidence. I am questioning whether the Devils have the talent to play like Detroit did, but I think if they are able to be more like them, then their issues with possession, puck control, and maybe even playing with the lead may subside.</p>
<p>Or they can continue to doing what they're doing and struggle to get 25 shots on net, especially after shocking the goalie in the first period, and talk about "compete" or "consistency" or some other buzzword. It's not rocket science; control the puck. Just watch Detroit do what they do.</p>
<p><b>Speaking Of: </b>Pavel Datsyuk is stupidly good. Tonight, so were Tomas Tatar, Sheahan, Stephen Weiss, Zetterberg, and Abdelkader. That's mostly two lines from Detroit and they drove the play in bunches, especially after the first period. Detroit's real good and, again, they do it through effective puck movement. Imagine that. Special shout out to Nyquist, who didn't do as well in possession, but drew two calls in the second period and scored the only shootout goal tonight.</p>
<p><b>Not A Matter of If, But When: </b>That's the status of Peter DeBoer in my mind. And, no, I don't think a coaching change is going to fix all of this. But the results don't care about that.</p>
<p><b>Your Take: </b>Well, what's your take? The Devils have another game tomorrow, so we'll see whether it gets worse before it starts to get better or the Devils drag something out of Nassau.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who commented during the game in the Gamethread and those who followed <a href="http://www.twitter.com/inlouwetrust" target="_blank">@InLouWeTrust</a>. Thank you for reading.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2014/11/29/7304957/another-flop-new-jersey-devils-drop-three-goal-lead-4-5-shootout-detroit-red-wingsJohn Fischer2014-11-28T07:00:02-05:002014-11-28T07:00:02-05:00Devils vs. Red Wings: Game Preview #23
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<img alt="The last Devils-Red Wings game did not go well for the Devils. At all." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f82VwD1kxTFB1w1qgPU6Dt4uwcs=/0x0:1732x1155/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44243600/usa-today-7789788.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The last Devils-Red Wings game did not go well for the Devils. At all. | Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Finally returning home to start a back-to-back set to close November, the New Jersey Devils will host the Detroit Red Wings. This game preview notes which Devils got to do better and the many good players on the Red Wings.</p> <p>A return home against an opponent who's rather good and soundly beat them in their last game. Oh boy.</p>
<p><b>The Time: </b>7:00 PM EST</p>
<p><b>The Broadcast: </b>TV - MSG+; Radio - 660 AM & 101.9 FM WFAN</p>
<p><b>The Matchup: </b>The <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New Jersey Devils</a> (9-10-3) vs. the <a href="https://www.wingingitinmotown.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Detroit Red Wings</a> (12-5-5; SBN Blog: <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/">Winging It in Motown</a>)</p>
<p><b>The Last Devils Game: </b>On Tuesday night, the Devils ended a four-game road trip in Vancouver. The <a href="https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Canucks</a> dominated the first ten minutes of the game. They took a possession and shot advantage so large, the Devils would not make it up. <span>Cory Schneider</span> and puck luck were the chief reasons why a 16-shot first period yielded no goals against. However, a goal would come for Vancouver in the second period. <span>Marek Zidlicky's</span> clearance wasn't strong enough along the boards off a dump-in. <span>Nick Bonino</span> touched it back for <span>Kevin Bieksa</span>, who fired a low shot re-directed into the net by <span>Alex Burrows</span> (who had inside position on Zidlicky), and it was 0-1 Vancouver. The goal inspired the Devils not really do much different, though Vancouver didn't have an iron-clad grip on the game. While the Devils' play was second-rate, they found themselves in a one-shot game in the third period. That ended with under six minutes left to play. Off a won neutral zone faceoff, Zidlicky takes the puck and tries to carry it through the bodies. <span>Ryan Stanton</span> knocked it away and <span>Shawn Matthias</span> had a clear breakaway. Zidlicky tried to backcheck. Schneider stopped Matthias, but the rebound hit off Zidlicky's leg, and propelled into the net. A bad bounce, but fitting for #2 as he had a hideous by #2 all night long. 0-2 Vancouver and that's where it stood. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2014/11/26/7290459/devils-end-road-trip-with-a-thud-in-miserable-2-0-loss-to-vancouver">Mike stayed up and recapped this terrible game by the Devils here.</a></p>
<p><b>The Last Red Wings Game: </b>Wednesday night featured the Red Wings taking on Philadelphia. This game had the return of Pavel Datsyuk to the Detroit lineup and he would make an impact later on. The <a href="https://www.broadstreethockey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Flyers</a> threatened early, featuring <span>Jakub Voracek</span> hitting the post; but Detroit struck first. Darren Helm fired a low shot from the left circle and Stephen Weiss tipped it past <span>Steve Mason</span> for the game's first goal. Philly would answer back early in the second period. A neutral zone turnover by Danny DeKeyser led to <span>Claude Giroux</span> carrying it in and firing a laser past Jimmy Howard. Detroit would take the score back and then some. Thomas Jurco scored off a rebound from a DeKeyser shot to make it 2-1. Datsyuk would score seconds after a power play with a wrister from above the right circle to make it 3-1 and have <span>Ray Emery</span> replace Mason. Datsyuk would get another goal, impressively batting in a loose puck that took a bounce on the ice. Philly would make things a little more interesting in the third when <span>Wayne Simmonds</span> passed it to Voracek across the top of the crease for a PPG. But Detroit sealed the win late; <span>Gustav Nyquist</span> picked up on a failed attempt by Giroux to keep the puck in the zone, passed it up to <span>Henrik Zetterberg</span>, and the team's leading scorer skated up to fire in the empty net goal. The Red Wings won 5-2, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2014/11/26/7297635/wings-fly-away-wings-5-flyers-2">wingedoctupus had this recap at Winging It in Motown</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2014/11/27/7290747/detroit-red-wings-game-analysis-after-action-report-for-wednesday-nov">J.J. from Kansas has this more in-depth analysis of the game.</a></p>
<p><b>The Last Devils-Red Wings Game: </b> The Devils visited Detroit earlier this month, November 7th to be exact. It went rather poorly for the Devils. While the Devils did score first - <span>Steve Bernier</span> curling in a rebound in front of the net - the play was tilted against New Jersey until the score was decidedly in Detroit's favor. The Devils got out-shot 3-14in the first and were really just weathering the storm thanks in part to their awful passing. Detroit would tie it up with a power play goal credited to Jakub Kindl; Kindl's shot was re-directed in by <span>Adam Larsson</span> - back when the penalty kill was almost guaranteed to give up a goal every game. Less than a minute later, <span>Brendan Smith</span> fired a low shot through a massive screen to make it 1-2. Detroit did not really let up. Past midway through the second, Johan Franzen made <span>Bryce Salvador</span> look like a pylon while converting another power play to make it 1-3. Late in the second, Niklas Kronwall fired a long shot that rebounded hard off the backboards, which went off Cory Schneider and went into the net. All the while, the Devils just kept floundering at controlling and moving the puck effectively. Score effects were a bit kinder in the third and <span>Jordin Tootoo</span> scored his first goal with the Devils off a rebound created by Marek Zidlicky. But as far as 2-4 losses go, it was a fairly decisive win for Detroit and a very ugly performance by New Jersey. One that would be repeated in many games this month. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2014/11/7/7176547/its-the-passing-stupid-new-jersey-devils-flounder-detroit-red-wings-2-4-loss">My recap of the game is here.</a> For the other side, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2014/11/7/7176241/the-devils-forgot-the-details-red-wings-4-devils-2">Graham Hathway had this game recap at Winging It in Motown</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2014/11/8/7172051/detroit-red-wings-game-analysis-after-action-report-for-friday-nov">J.J. from Kansas had this more in-depth review.</a></p>
<p><b>The Goal: </b>Puck control matters, make the passes and decisions count. The biggest issue from the last Devils-Red Wings game, the recent Vancouver game, and a majority of the games in the past four-to-six weeks has been that the Devils have struggled at best to control the puck effectively. Their zone exits are rarely clean, their passing has been a nightmare at times, and their zone entries have not led to the Devils attacking as much as they could have been. As a result, they look bad more often than not, they go through stretches of just being steamrolled, and they have a sub-50% FenClose in 5-on-5 play. <a target="_blank" href="http://war-on-ice.com/teamtable.html?mansit=2&scoresit=2&homeawaysit=1&tablegroup=1&xaxis=1&yaxis=5&saxis=46&caxis=2&start0=20142015&end0=20142015&start1=2014-10-01&end1=2014-11-28&splitseasons=1&tablegroup=1">War on Ice has them now at 48.36%</a>, which is horrid given that the Devils have been awesome in possession (like, better than 53%) for the last three seasons. <a target="_blank" href="http://war-on-ice.com/teamtable.html?mansit=2&scoresit=2&homeawaysit=1&tablegroup=1&xaxis=1&yaxis=5&saxis=46&caxis=2&start0=20142015&end0=20142015&start1=2014-10-01&end1=2014-11-28&splitseasons=1&tablegroup=1">Detroit isn't a possession powerhouse at 50.66%</a>, but any opposing team will look like one if the Devils players keep chipping pucks into or form the neutral zone and struggle to even string three passes in a row going forward. Short of the Red Wings having a really off night, the Devils need to improve their execution to compete tonight, never mind win the game. That should be the goal and it could be the goal for nearly every game until it gets better.</p>
<p><b>The Gotta-Do-Betters: </b>The Devils did practice on Thanksgiving and it was open to season ticket holders, but as far as I know nothing of note really came from it. There isn't any word from Tom Gulitti or Rich Chere as I could see. So if you were there, what did you see?</p>
<p>That said, based on the last Devils game and the past few weeks, there are a number of Devils that I think really have to do better and starting tonight to make the team at least more competitive.</p>
<p>First and foremost is the goat of the last game, Marek Zidlicky. It's not that he's questionable in his own end (he is) and he can take some dumb penalties (he does), but he was horrid in Vancouver. He was turning pucks over left and right, he was not in positions to make plays, and he was unable to distribute the puck effectively on offense. He tried to make aggressive moves on offense and it only yielded bad news for New Jersey and a hustling backcheck from #2. No one on the blueline passes the puck as much or as well as Zidlicky so when he stinks, it's a problem. He's got to do better.</p>
<p>Second, assuming he comes back into the lineup, <span>Eric Gelinas</span> needs to show he can actually defend. With Adam Larsson still being paired with <span>Seth Helgeson</span>, Gelinas would likely be paired with Zidlicky. While the name <span>Peter Harrold</span> seems to really get some people on the Internet unreasonably irate (it <i>is</i> the Internet), Gelinas' play in his own end of the rink over his last few games was basically Zidlicky's night against Vancouver stretched out over multiple games minus the goals against. Turning the puck over, not busting out his best asset, The Truth, and not getting into positions to make plays are bad regardless of whether or not the puck ends up behind his goalie. Further, given that I don't think Helgeson should be riding with #22 (putting a rookie with a defensively questionable defender isn't a good idea to me), it's on Gelinas to show some smarts in his own zone while Zidlicky has to do better. Even if Gelinas is out for another game and after the apparent IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD reaction from some for Harrold getting one more night, any pairing is going to be a sore spot that Detroit could exploit.</p>
<p>That exploitation can be lessened with better play from the forwards, namely the <span>Patrik Elias</span> line. Presuming that <span>Martin Havlat</span> and <span>Adam Henrique</span> are still with him, all three need to step it up. I may be writing a bit more in length about the very real second line issues with this Devils roster, so I'll be a bit briefer. This trio is too experienced to get bulldozed as badly as they did by Vancouver. Nearly all of their shifts led to more time in their end of the rink than the opposition's. On paper, this is a line with skill, speed, and awareness that could cause defenses problems. In reality, they've been bossed around save for the occasional nice play or goal. Detroit, like most teams in the NHL, aren't a one-line team that the Zajac line can just handle with <span>Andy Greene</span> and <span>Damon Severson</span>. They're deeper and so that requires the guys getting 15-18 minutes behind the Zajac line to play well. Generating one shooting attempt at even strength in a close-score game in Vancouver is the opposite of that. Elias, Henrique, and Havlat have to do better.</p>
<p><b>I Expect This: </b>Cory Schneider was excellent in Vancouver and has played a lot for New Jersey. It's a back-to-back set, but I'm expecting Schneider to start this game. He would give the Devils a better chance to win than <span>Scott Clemmensen</span>. Especially if the Devils continue to play like they have been recently; I have much more faith in Schneider stopping a lot of shots to keep the game within reach than Clemmensen. Provided he doesn't get shelled, it's up in the air as to whether he'll get the Isles on Saturday.</p>
<p><b>This Detroit Team is Good: </b>Since the Devils lost to the Red Wings, 2-4, Detroit has put up a record of 5-2-1. While they are not killing it in possession, they've been above break-even as a team and they have many players driving the play. They have a good power play, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20152ALLSAAAll&sort=powerPlayPercentage&viewName=summary">converting just over 20% of their opportunities so far</a>; and an even more successful penalty kill, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20152ALLSAAAll&sort=penaltyKillPercentage&viewName=summary">sitting second only to Chicago with a 88.6% success rate.</a> As a team, they average over 30 shots per game and allow less than 27. There's not a lot of easy things to point to and say, "The Devils should exploit this." It's not going to be their 0-3 shootout record. That does not help New Jersey. Their 4-3-3 road record compared to a 8-2-2 home record might. However,<a target="_blank" href="http://war-on-ice.com/teamtable.html?mansit=2&scoresit=2&homeawaysit=3&tablegroup=1&xaxis=1&yaxis=5&saxis=46&caxis=2&start0=20142015&end0=20142015&start1=2014-10-01&end1=2014-11-28&splitseasons=1&tablegroup=1"> their 51.18% FenClose in 5-on-5 play in road games according to War on Ice</a> suggests they're not necessarily a poorer road team in the run of play. It seems cliche, but the Devils are just going to have to try and hang with a rather good team.</p>
<p><b>Recent Returns for the Opposition: </b>That rather good team just got Pavel Datsyuk and Stephen Weiss back this week. The former has been a key player for Detroit for a while. He scored two goals in his first game back against Philly. The latter had a really rough 2013-14 campaign. He got two goals against Florida earlier this week, and tallied another goal and assist against Philly. That's an excellent start to his season; he's already matched last season's production in just two games.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://leftwinglock.com/line-combinations/detroit-red-wings/?team=detroit-red-wings&strength=EV&gametype=1">Per Left Wing Lock</a>, Datsyuk played in a more limited role, lining up with Weiss and Darren Helm. But there was a little time when he was with Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist. I would expect once he's more in "form" (maybe tonight given he did do good work against Philly), he'll be with Zetterberg again and possibly with <span>Justin Abdelkader</span> instead of Nyquist. Otherwise, that's a rather difficult line to contend with after the others Detroit can throw out there.</p>
<p><b>The Others Detroit Can Throw Out There: </b><a target="_blank" href="http://war-on-ice.com/playertable.html?mansit=2&scoresit=1&homeawaysit=1&shotattsit=1&names=&team=DET&pos=1&xaxis=1&yaxis=16&caxis=6&saxis=4&panel=&usedaterange=0&start0=20142015&end0=20142015&start1=2014-10-01&end1=2014-11-28&splitseasons=0">Look at the chart in this link at War on Ice.</a> You'll notice that the majority of the Red Wings have an offensive zone start percentage greater than 50% with few exceptions. That exception is Luke Glendening, Drew Miller, and <span>Joakim Andersson</span>, which appears to be closer to a checking line if only for starting more often in their own end of the rink. And that wasn't a line in their last game. Thomas Jurco was with Glendening and Miller instead and they did pretty well with plenty of defensive zone starts <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2014/11/27/7290747/detroit-red-wings-game-analysis-after-action-report-for-wednesday-nov">given J.J.'s after action report.</a> If they continue to do well, then that frees up the others to be more offensive and be more dangerous. And guys like Zetterberg, Nyquist, Thomas Tatar, Datsyuk, Helm, Abdelkader, and Johan Franzen benefit from that.</p>
<p>I didn't just pick those names at random either. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?season=20142015&gameType=2&team=DET&position=S&country=&status=&viewName=summary#">They've produced significantly for the Red Wings this season.</a> Each of them has at least ten points. Zetterberg is the leader among them and he's also their most prolific shooter with 69 shots on net. He's not going to be shooting at only 7.2% forever, so I would expect him to his goals to get a bump in time. But it's OK given that Nyquist has 10, Tatar has 9, Datsyuk now has 7, and Franzen and Abdelkader each have 6. Throw in contributions from Helm, Sheahan, and now Weiss, and there are players to deal with on nearly every line from a production and playing standpoint. Combine that with a defense led by Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson, and<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?gameType=2&position=G&season=20142015&sort=evenStrengthSaves&status=A&team=DET&viewName=specialTeamSaves"> Jimmy Howard posting 92.2% and 92% save percentages</a> in even strength and shorthanded situations respectively. That's a difficult team to deal with. It requires their opponents to really make an effort to not lose pucks easily in either part of the rink. That's why this could be a difficult game for the Devils.</p>
<p><b>Your Take: </b>The Devils end the month with a back-to-back with Detroit tonight and a game on Long Island tomorrow. Definitely not easy. I'll be back in my usual seat at The Rock to watch this one, all the same. Could the Devils hang with Detroit? Who on the Devils needs to do really well against Detroit? What concerns you the most about the Red Wings? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about tonight's game in the comments. Thank you for reading.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2014/11/28/7300773/new-jersey-devils-vs-detroit-red-wings-game-preview-23John Fischer